Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Plain Truth Readers Discussing "the Race Question" (1963)

During the rise of the civil rights movement that would succeed in putting an end to racial segregation shamefully HWA and those with him in the leadership of the Radio Church of God chose to oppose them and, despite their professions of neutrality, made clear to their many readers their disdain for civil rights activists and what they stood for. They even scare mongered that sort of "race war" was about to occur in which African Americans would attack the white majority en masse.

Some reactions towards HWA's views concerning the goals and aspirations of civil rights activists may be seen in several letters to the editor from the December 1963 issue of The Plain Truth (PDF p. 2).

They present a letter from one African American in Alabama who seems inclined to believe the recruitment magazine editors' views. Intriguing how the editors chose a letter from an African American whose views they approved of to make the civil rights movement look bad.

Notably one writer for the Radio Church of God absurdly, bluntly and hysterically condemns a comment from a man who stated that racial intermarriage was nothing to worry about. This view that treats African Americans as equals, and which would soon gain legal status after the Loving v. Virginia decision in 1967, is ridiculed by this Radio Church of God writer as "a purely emotional and distorted human opinion". In Armstrongism "human opinion" is jargon for that which is not approved by the leadership with the implication that it is contrary to the will of (HWA's) God.

They also present a letter from a bigot in California who interpreted the Plain Truth editors' profession of neutrality as indicating that they sided with civil rights activists.

Below are the letters. The highlighted section is to show the objectionable attitude that some of the Radio Church of God's leaders held. Note that antiquated language is used in the quotation below.

******

On The Race Question

"I really enjoyed reading about 'The
Real Cause of the Race Crisis.' I never
did like what the people are doing to
bring on integration. Somehow I never
did believe that God meant for all races
to be integrated bur after reading your article, I know I was right. I think my
people are wrong in what they are doing.
If they would pray and put their trust in God He would help them. We
need more God-sent men like you to
preach the truth. I am a Negro."

Man from Alabama

"About the race problem, I must inform
you how very wrong you are. You
stared that integration will result in intermarriages.
If it does, so what? You
white men have been getting babies by
black women for over 400 years! So
what is good. for the goose is good for
the gander."

Man from Chicago, Illinois

• You're wrong. White men have been, "getting babies' by black women since well before the flood-and vice-versa.
But sin plus sin does not equal righteousness.
Neither does poison plus poison equal no poison. Two wrongs do not make a right-and in such a gigantic and frightfully serious and far reaching issue as the race problem of today a purely emotional and distorted human opinion is hardly the solution!

"I read the article where you say you
are not taking sides in the race issue.
How generous of you. At lease you have
come out in the open. I know you have
been on the Negroes' side ever since I
first heard your broadcast several years
ago. In fact, I consider you a Negro
idolator of the worst kind."

Man from San Leandro, California

• We are NOT-as plainly stated in huge capital letters last issue, taking
sides! We are on God's side in this and
all other issues. And just what, exactly
is a "Negro Idolator?"

******

What shameful conduct HWA and his 1% did in this matter at the time. No "race war" is coming. Rather we need to treat each other with equality and respect.

3 comments:

It's too bad that can never happen in Armstrongism where there will always be an hierarchical class society.

It's not just race. It's also about your status within the ACoG where the leaders are always at the top (and why is that? What can they possibly offer). It's also how good you look. It's sort thing that Armstrongism got from Disney: Attractive people are good; ugly people are bad. This horrible type of discrimination is built in and is such a core of Armstrongism that it will never be eliminated.

And of course, if you are rich, you are always welcome, no matter how evil and disgusting you are (it's another form of being attractive).

The best of all worlds within Armstrongism is to be a charming, attractive, charismic, high energy, glib, white psychopath.

Of course, sometimes black psychopaths are also welcomed with open arms. For example, there was the very well-liked Chuck Harris, who was charismatic and whose story is told at Silenced.co:

Chuck Harris Murders

Chuck Harris was a WCG member in Seattle lobbying his pastor, Dennis Luker, to allow him to marry a fellow member, Brenda James. Harris was African-American and Brenda was Caucasian, therefore Luker prohibited them from even dating. This situation disregarded the fact that Harris was already married to a woman in Canada. Harris became furious and brought a revolver to church services. He later shot and killed James and others in a rampage on January 6, 1985.

Attorney John Weston and friends Patricia Tobis and Susan Marie Dietsch returned to Tobis’ home after dinner where they found Harris present with James, who had been babysitting Tobis’ two children. Tobis allowed him to stay and air his grievances with James, until he heard a gunshot and ran to investigate, only have Harris shoot him in the chest. Tobis alleged Harris said “two down, one to go” as he continued through the house and shot Weston in the chest, followed by Dietsch in an effort to eliminate all witnesses. James and Diestch died.

Harris had been previously charged with killing his estranged wife in 1970, which he confessed to and was found innocent by reason of insanity. Harris was committed again to a mental hospital following the murders. WCG tried to distance itself from Harris, but completely overlooked his history fighting in Vietnam and multiple mental issues and violent tendancies, yet baptized him anyway and accepted him into the fold as a ticking timebomb ready to go off at any time. Harris would not be the last mentally disturbed church member to slaughter innocent people.--------------------Harris was also involved with the teens of the church which led to two of the teens (one of them an elder's son) to be involved and convicted of aggravated murder.

Again, the extreme positions and chaos within Armstrongism invite psychopaths into the venue with disastrous consequences. And racism is certainly extreme and chaotic.

Armstrongism, truthfully, seems to have reached a stasis for the moment, albeit one with a very slow decline of entropy. There is this eerie quiet period (except for David Pack) where not too much is going, not too is being said and some of the major spit-offs are preparing for their winter carnival or whatever they call it. The only really major pending thing is the death of Roderick Meredith and who knows how long that will continue.

Perhaps, after the new President elect of the United States takes office, things will pick up. Certainly, the seniors -- the 50 shades of gray in the ACoGs -- are going to find that they are betrayed by the Republicans who will continue to cut programs that impact them -- which could certainly cause a more rapid decline of income in the ACoGs and have other collateral effects on the 1%.

For now, a Jonestown / Heaven's Gate scenario is pretty iffy, even if David Pack is going unstable.

However, if there is a mass suicide extinction event, things will not be so very rosy for the other ACoGs and they will be scrambling to explain why the same thing won't be happening to them (no matter how futile that would be).

The thing is though, people settle back into their little ruts quickly. Back in 2005, with the LCG murders at services, some members were thinking of bailing, but what really happened? They went back to services shortly thereafter as though nothing had happened. And Ronald Weinland went to prison for Income Tax evasion, returns after 3 years and everything is business as usual.

One thing though, the Feds are watching and if one of the cult sects implode, the FBI will certainly take greater interest in watching all the ACoGs.

But don't get your hopes up. Armstrongism is one of these seriously depressed venues where people just don't have the energy anymore to do the extreme things they may have been once primed to do.

If You are new please read this

Hand in Hand for Syria

Keep Somalia's Remittances Open

I encourage readers to sign this petition from Oxfam calling upon the U.S. government to let the Somali diaspora continue to send remittance to their loved ones in Somalia.

Moves have been made to shut down such remittances from Somalis in America. Many Somalis need these remittances. The remittances to Somalia are larger than foreign aid contributions and are a lifeline to these people caught in trouble and turmoil.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".

Truth about Roderick C. Meredith

What sort of man is he? A man who could say things like this.

"Mr. Armstrong has reminded us again that we are to disfellowship any members who attend GTA's [Garner Ted Armstrong's] campaigns, church services or other meetings. Some of our weaker members apparently do not realize that this man is in direct rebellion against God and His government! We must not allow them, or ourselves, to rationalize about this matter, to try to "help the underdog," or in any other way lend support to one whose gross immorality, whose long standing "play acting" and hypocrisy, and whose direct insubordination to the Government of God has long been and is now a source of confusion and DIVISION among God's people. So, as per Mr. Armstrong's instruction, I charge and exhort every one of you faithful ministers of the living Christ to explain this in no uncertain terms to your members, to warn them about this cause of division and then to disfellowship any who consort with GTA or any of his fellows." (Roderick C. Meredith, Pastor's Report, May 21, 1979, pp. 1-2.)

David Robinson on Roderick C. Meredith

"During the ten years I have been an employee of the Worldwide Church, you have been poorly spoken of by most of the ministers and employees I have known. I vividly remember the absolute unbounded glee that was openly expressed by a good number of respected men in the church when you were first "shanghaied." [In 1972.] I could begin by naming names, which I am sure would shock you. I was one of the few who stood, where possible, for you. Your tenure as superintendent of ministers, as I believe the office was then called, was looked on as nightmarish. While you held office during the years of growth, most of those whom I know gave you very little credit for that growth. Almost everyone whom I know, whether they be former friends of yours, or continuing foes, recalls insensitive and terrible things you have done. Without exception, at least among my acquaintances, they all credit you with an unbridled lust for power and list you as one who is willing to pay the price of gaining that power, no matter what. I have, through many of the last few years, believed you had principles you would not violate. Many a man of experience in the church assured me of my error. Events have proven me wrong and them right. Mr. Armstrong has himself been widely quoted as saying of you that you were so righteous that you were so "righteous you were unrighteous." " (David Robinson, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web, Chapter 16, p. 207.)

Of course it is impossible for me to personally verify these assertions but people deserve to know what this knowledgeable man had to say about him.